Animation Anecdotes #219
Gilliam and Pinocchio. In the Guardian newspaper April 27, 2001, filmmaker and animator Terry Gilliam was asked about what he thought the ten best animated films of all time were….
Essential Cartoons That Aren’t on Blu-ray
What are your essential films that aren’t available on Blu-ray? In high school, I was a ‘film purest’. That is, I remember arguing with a friend how the merits of…
Hanna Barbera’s “Dog Trouble” (1942)
This week, we’re looking at an early Tom and Jerry that introduces a new bulldog opponent. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera knew how to differentiate their two stars from the…
Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse, “The Worry Song”
The MGM musical classic Anchors Aweigh turns 70 in July, so here’s a spin through the record album based on its live-action/animated sequence supervised by Hanna and Barbera. THE KING…
Famous Studios 1947-48
The 1947-48 season was one of transition. The contractual arrangement with Marge, and the license for Little Lulu, had come to an end. The cartoons had not caught on with…
Streamline Pictures – Part 11
Over the next few weeks I am posting reviewer quotes from various Streamline Pictures Video Comics releases. In the end we will have a clear picture of the companies output,…
Tex Avery Loses an Eye, 1933
This was a gruesome incident that gets whispered about in the annals of Golden Age animation, so perhaps it is time to point a forensic lens at that devastating paperclip…
Animation Anecdotes #218
Dave Fleischer On Screen. In the low budget Republic live action movie Trocadero (1944), actor Eddie Bartell introduces several minor celebrities in the audience at that famous nightclub including “The…
Cool Stuff From The Thunderbean Vault
That’s right! Cool miscellaneous stuff that will likely never be on any official release from anyone. It’s a post of oddities! I always thought the coolest thing about visitiing any…
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [Click Here]
